The Wizards beat the Nuggets 92-85 in a sloppy, hard to watch game where the two teams committed a combined 47 turnovers. Bradley Beal led the way for the Wizards with a game-high 26 points while Markieff Morris and John Wall chipped in with 15 apiece.

Once again, the Wizards got off to a slow start tonight and found themselves down double digits just minutes into this game. It felt like this one could get out of hand early but lo and behold, the bench played very well in the first half. Led by Kelly Oubre with eight points, the bench combined for 17 points in the half as the Wizards chipped away at the Nuggets lead and trailed by just five, 52-47 at halftime.

Things got chippy in the third quarter when Wall was shoved by Jusuf Nurkic. Wall retaliated with a shove of his own and got a technical foul as a result. But the Wizards dug in defensively and used a 20-3 run to take a 75-69 lead, late in the third quarter.

Washington got off to a slow start in the fourth quarter, but Kelly Oubre, who got fourth quarter minutes over Markieff Morris, picked off a pass and took it coast to coast for a layup as the Wizards would tie the ballgame at 81 midway through the fourth quarter. From there, the Wizards were able to get the stops they needed to sneak out with a much needed, 92-85 victory.

Wall and Beal save the day

Scoring didn’t come easy for the Wizards tonight. But Bradley Beal stepped up when the Wizards needed him most as he scored 26 points, including 10 in the third quarter. John Wall shot just 5-14 from the field tonight but scored a layup in transition late in the fourth quarter followed up by an elbow jumper to help the Wizards pull away late.

The bench holds its own

The bench held its own tonight led by Kelly Oubre with eight points and five rebounds. The reserves combined for 17 points in the first half and were able to chip away at the Nuggets’ early 12-point lead and cut the deficit to five, 38-33 when the starters checked back in.

So much for a hot start

Coach Scott Brooks preached improvement on the defensive end and getting off to a fast start after Tuesday night’s loss to the Magic. The Wizards played poor defense early and got off to a slow start as they had more turnovers (7) than points (5) midway through the first quarter. The Nuggets took advantage of the Wizards turnovers and used a 13-0 run in the first quarter to build a quick 17-5 lead. Falling behind early in games has been a recent theme for the Wizards. They overcame it in this one, but the Wizards can’t continue to spot teams early double-digit leads.